New Delhi, October 28: Amid continued diplomatic uncertainty between India and Pakistan, India has invited Pakistan’s Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Civilisational Dialogue Forum scheduled to be held in New Delhi. The invitation is being viewed as the first of its kind to a senior Pakistani minister since Operation Sindoor in May 2025.
The forum, scheduled for November 20 and 21 in New Delhi, aims to strengthen cultural ties among countries across Asia and Eurasia and promote discussions on ancient civilisations, heritage, art, literature and traditions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed the forum during the SCO summit in Tianjin, China, in September 2025. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh subsequently announced that India would host the event at the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 20, 2026.
The SCO has 10 member states: India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistan is scheduled to host the organisation’s summit next year.
India-Pakistan relations have remained strained following the Pathankot and Uri attacks in 2016. Diplomatic ties deteriorated further in 2019, when both countries downgraded their diplomatic representation. In May 2023, Pakistan’s then Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited Goa to attend an SCO foreign ministers’ meeting. Later, in October 2024, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar travelled to Islamabad to attend the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting.
However, it remains unclear whether Khichi will accept the invitation and attend the forum in New Delhi.
